White House, Kremlin face off over future of Venezuela’s Maduro

OAN NewsroomUPDATED 6:38 AM PT — Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Top U.S. diplomats and their Russian counterparts recently discussed the ongoing Venezuelan crisis.

During a United Nations Security Council meeting Tuesday, U.S. Envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams condemned the government’s excessive use of force against its people.

“We are here today, because of the de facto Russia ‘s refusal to allow humanitarian aid to enter Venezuela on February 23rd,” he explained.

U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams address a meeting on Venezuela in the U.N. Security Council at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

On the other side, UN Envoy to Russia Vasily Nebenzya criticized the U.S. and Britain for freezing $30 billion in oil and banking assets of the Maduro regime. He claimed the move could make poverty in Venezuela much worse.

“Instead of the hypocritical attempt to bring in an aid of $20 million, it is necessary to immediately lift the ban on the accounts of Venezuelan enterprises in American banks with $11 billion allocated by the government for the purchase of medicines, food and essential goods,” he urged.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials reiterated their commitment to maintaining sanctions, while delivering more humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela.

Russia and the U.S. have opposed each other when it comes to the crisis in Venezuela. The Kremlin has continued to support President Nicolas Maduro, while the U.S. is pushing for him to step aside.